latest news spring (2) 2017 all saints teaching school ... · bespoke school to school support...

Latest news

Spring (2) 2017

NEWSLETTER All Saints Teaching School Alliance

astsa.org [email protected] @allsaintsTSA 01626 248793

All Saints Teaching School Alliance SHARE THE FUTURE

In this Issue

Page 3 Welcome | Benefits of joining All Saints Teaching School Alliance

Page 4 Chartered College of Teaching | Bespoke School to School Support

Page 5 A Different Kind of Professional Development | School to School Support

Page 6 Devon Phonics Partnership | School Direct

Page 7 Taking the bar to the next step

Page 8 Opening Minds to the Textbook Approach | Supporting Teachers’ Maths Subject Knowledge

Page 9 Support for the Child and Practitioner

Page 10 RE Cordinators Day

Page 11 All Saints Teaching School & Oxford University Press events



Welcome Welcome to the March Newsletter! We are busily compiling our offer for schools, MATS and commissioning authorities for the next academic year. We are a Teaching School which serves Devon and we work in partnership with schools across the South West. We have had over 80 schools access CPD or School to School Support from our Teaching School Alliance this year so far. Teachers and leaders are still telling us that they are unsure about the role and remit of Teaching Schools and who they should engage with and for what reasons. It is our role, as Teaching Schools, to ensure that schools are fully informed and can make choices about which Alliance to join. The Education Excellence Everywhere white paper outlines the role of Teaching Schools. The White Paper sets out that:

“ Teaching Schools play a vital role in building capacity in a

school led system to prevent underperformance and

enable educational excellence - something which we all

strive for on a day to day basis.”

The role of the Teaching School is to: Co-ordinate high quality school-based teacher training Provide high quality school to school support Provide evidence-based CPD for teachers and leaders Act as a brokerage hub to facilitate schools to access SLEs, NLEs and excellent practice We know that a school-led system is essential for continued improvement and that working across the system and drawing upon support and expertise that lies within school, is key. This is why schools are invited to be part of an alliance. By being part of our alliance you can not only access support but play a part in shaping it and contributing to the alliance. We invite our alliance schools to be part of the Strategic Board or the Development Board to ensure that our alliance is able to draw upon best practice and design support which meets the needs of each school.

Benefits to Joining All Saints Teaching School Alliance We are not a subscription model and schools do not need to pay a fee. By being a member of our alliance, you are able to access discounts and free events. As an alliance member you can support your recruitment and succession planning through involvement in School Direct and leadership development. We also work with our schools to design bespoke packages of support which ensure sustainable impact, drawing upon the expertise which lies within the alliance. Teaching Schools have access to funding to support School to School support and as school improvement funding to LAs reduces, schools will need to seek that from their Teaching School. This year alone we placed bids, on behalf of our alliance schools, and have received over £40,000 to support individual school improvement projects. As a Teaching School we can also bid for funding to support alliance schools and their priorities. We have been able to secure funding to support alliance schools who were seeking to improve their Phonics results. We have also secured funding for early leadership programmes. Last year, we received £57,000 of DfE funding to support Early Years, all of which have been of benefit to schools within the alliance.



We are committed to research-led and evidence-based CPD. Our CPD offer to schools has been designed to reflect the priorities of schools. 100% of our CPD has been graded as Good or Outstanding. We use live practice in classrooms and opportunities to collaborate and work alongside teachers and leaders to ensure that the CPD reflects best practice and the CPD standards. You do not have to be a member of our alliance to access the CPD; as stated previously we have had over 80 schools from across Devon access our CPD offer this year so far. As well as our partnership with schools, we are proud to work with a number of partners such as Exeter Diocese, the University of St Mark and St John, Devon LA, Torbay LA, Plymouth University, Teacher Development Trust, Maths Hubs and Teaching Schools. Our partners are also part of our Strategic Board. If you would like to find out more or would like to discuss being a member of All Saints Teaching School Alliance, please contact: Tracey Cleverly [email protected]

Chartered College of Teaching In our last newsletter we advertised the opportunity for Heads, leaders and teachers to come along and find out more about the Chartered College of Teaching. We are thrilled to be hosting Dame Alison Peacock, CEO Chartered College of Teaching, who will is inviting Heads and leaders to meet with her and find out more about the College and how it supports the profession. We ask that you book a place in order for us to provide enough seats and refreshments. There is no cost to schools. You can book your place online http://astsa.org/course/cct-alisonpeacock/ The briefing is on Friday 23rd June at 9.30- 10.30am at The Spires College, Torquay. Please do come along and find out more about this exciting opportunity for the profession.

Bespoke School to School Support Collaborating, sharing best practice and working alongside leaders is key to our School to School Support packages. Earlier in the newsletter we informed you that we are able to apply for funding for schools who are in category as well as bid for projects to support school development priorities. We also offer bespoke packages, designed with school leaders, to support individual development needs of schools and MATS. This may be an National Leader of Education working with a school or a Specialist Leader of Education working with middle leaders. We have an expert team of SLEs who are working in schools as successful leaders with a proven track record in school improvement. Many schools contact us to request SLE support for their middle leaders. This may be supporting a Maths Lead or working with middle leaders to support assessment or teaching and learning. The underlying aim of an SLE deployment is to empower the leader in school to develop sustained practice which impacts on their school improvement priority. Our SLEs work across the South West and they have a breadth of knowledge and skills from their experience. If you would like to discuss how an SLE or NLE deployment could support your school improvement plan,

please contact us [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://astsa.org/course/cct-alisonpeacock/




We know that coaching, as a style of leadership and a way of delivering professional development, is a hugely powerful tool to drive whole school priorities. However incremental pedagogical-based coaching is the tool to unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It’s helping them learn rather than simply just by telling them and hoping the message gets through. Our SLEs and LLEs are all trained, skilled coaches and facilitate learning conversations based on professional dialogue rooted in evidence which allows teachers to improve the quality of teaching and learning within their own classrooms and this is having an impact in the schools that we are working with across Torbay, Newton Abbot and Devon.

A Different Kind of Professional Development

“ Coaching enables individuals and teams to develop and flourish, to

take responsibility for their own learning and to achieve their goals.”

A successful example of this has been the use of incremental coaching as a tool for professional development at Homelands Primary where the coaching happens immediately after a lesson observation. The coach and coachee focus on a single pedagogical development point which the SLE then supports the development of. This might mean observing a peer or the SLE might even model the technique within the next session. This results in instant impact as the coachee begins to work on incrementally making small adjustments to their practice, experimenting, observing and reflecting, whilst working alongside a skilled facilitator who can help them celebrate their successes and coach them towards making further improvements.

School to School Support One of the most frequent requests that we receive from leaders of RE is ideas to support the development of the RE curriculum. This term, we have been working to support RE Leads across Devon to review and develop their RE curriculum. This work has been important in challenging and supporting RE Leads to reflect upon the purpose of RE within their schools, to ensure that the curriculum and provision of RE meets legal requirements and to focus on how the RE curriculum provides opportunities to take into account the local context of their school. By working in this collaborative, reflective way, RE Leads have been empowered to review their current provision of RE, to ensure that the provision meets the needs of pupils and to engage within discussions with teachers to identify further CPD needs that they have in order to be able to confidently embed the RE curriculum.

“ Working with the SLE was

really useful and we now feel

we have a clearer understanding

of the statutory requirement,

and Devon’s agreed syllabus

for RE.” THE GROVE SCHOOL

“ Feedback from staff has been extremely positive - teachers have been

willing to experiment with new strategies and are confident in

reviewing impact and developing and improving their professional

practice.” STEPHANIE, HEADTEACHER



Devon Phonics Partnership The nine schools taking part in our Phonics Partnership project (as funded by the Department for Education to support the quality of learning in Phonics) have been taking part in a range of bespoke workshops lead by our SLEs. The schools involved have had the chance to take part in a series of workshops including Phonics subject knowledge workshops, Getting to grips with Phonics and data and a workshop specifically on leadership. There has been live modelling, chances to observe Phonics in action throughout all year groups and each school has been able to access bespoke support to ensure success for all children within the Phonic test. All of the schools involved have gone away from each session and made a noticeable impact in their own schools straight away. Due to the demand for training in Phonics we even ran extra sessions to ensure that the schools involved in the project could send other staff to receive this valuable training. If you are interested in being part of future bids and projects, contact us to talk about becoming an alliance member [email protected]

School Direct

“

Our School Direct trainees for 2016-2017 are now beginning their final placements and are looking forward to really getting to grips with developing their practice further in the classrooms.

To support them, throughout this half term, they will be taking in part in subject knowledge workshops led by expert teachers from across our partnership schools. This is in addition to the tutoring received at University and helps them to further develop the practical knowledge and skills they need for the classroom.

Workshops range from ‘Developing a reading rich classroom’, ‘The use of model and images to underpin mathematical understanding’, ‘Creative writing’ and Phonics. So far we are delighted to say we have had 100% feedback satisfaction!

The Phonics subject knowledge lecture was really informative

and has shown me how to deliver phonics across the whole age

range.” JESSICA, SCHOOL DIRECT STUDENT

We place our trainees within schools who are part of the alliance. Please contact us if you are interested in joining [email protected]





This term our Maths SLE joined White Rose Maths Hub in Manchester, working with likeminded leaders from across the country and other Maths hubs in developing understanding of the bar model. As the sole licensed provider in Devon for the White Rose Bar Model CPD it is important to us that we stay at the forefront of development in this powerful tool. As well as attending a detailed workshop with Char Forsten from the US (a leading author and practitioner in the bar), workshops also focused on developing a policy and progression through use of the bar model and how different schools across the country have used it to maximum effect.

Taking the bar to the next step

ALL SAINTS TEACHING SCHOOL ARE THE

ONLY LICENSED PROVIDER IN DEVON TO

DELIVER BAR MODELLING TRAINING

All of this has been incorporated into our next In-depth Bar Model Day on 14th June: http://astsa.org/course/trng017/ If you want to get started before then we are licensed to deliver the White Rose bar model twilights to schools as part of a staff meeting or INSET, or you can come along to one our centralised sessions, the next one takes place on 2nd May http://astsa.org/course/trng015/ Delegates at our last Bar Model twilight said as well as enjoying using the bar it helped “break down the problem” and we are looking forward to working with one of the schools in more depth, as a result of this session, in developing their policy and getting bar model embedded across the school.

“ I found it useful to be questioned through the problem

in the same way you would with the children.”

KIM, MATHS LEAD, TEIGNMOUTH

http://astsa.org/course/trng017/




With the demands of the new curriculum in Maths being ever higher, we know that it is important for teachers to feel confident and empowered in their subject knowledge if we truly want to deliver a Mastery curriculum. That is why we run sessions throughout the year which focus on different areas of Maths and look at how to teach these conceptually from EYFS through to Year 6. Our most recent session on multiplication focused on common misconceptions and barriers to understanding and delegates appreciated the opportunity to “experience the problems in the same way we would teach the children”. A key success in all of our subject knowledge workshops has been delegates learning “how to deepen learning and reasoning to get depth of understanding beyond the procedure” which enables these teachers to plan those small incremental steps in children’s learning. Our next session is on fractions on 25th April http://astsa.org/course/trng014/

“ I am now aware of the progress other schools are making along the

Mastery Journey and appreciated the opportunity to share knowledge

and information with regard to assessment, curriculum changes,

expectations and resources … I valued your open and honest approach.”

GINETTE, MATHS CO-ORDINATOR, MARY DEAN PRIMARY

This half term, we have been privileged to share our work with alliance schools on Maths Mastery in Year 1 and how we are using one of the NCETM-endorsed high quality textbooks: Maths No Problem! Maths leaders from across the region came to find out more about the resource and how one of our alliance schools are using it as a tool to support our Mastery approach. Delegates spent time seeing how the resource was used in a live Year 1 lesson and had the opportunity to speak to the children, as well as the teacher, after the lesson to see the impact it has had.

Opening Minds to the Textbook Approach in Maths

The aim of these sessions is for delegates to ask questions about implementation, strategies approach and development in terms of Mastery so that they have the information they need to take their school forward. One teacher commented “it’s certainly very different from how I’ve seen textbooks used in the past”! We run these sessions termly with the next being on 26th April http://astsa.org/course/open005/

Supporting Teachers’ Maths Subject Knowledge


http://astsa.org/course/open005/



Each year, more and more children start Early Years settings with English as an Additional Language. But how can we ensure that the right support is in place for both the child and practitioner? This was one of the questions that our Early Years Network explored at their Spring 1 meeting.

The Early Years Network has a focus on supporting vulnerable groups, previously looking at Boys and Pupil Premium children, and this meeting explored the role of communication and language support for EAL children and how this in turn can also support many of our vulnerable children. EAL presents so many opportunities for an Early Years setting. First and foremost, teaching good listening and speaking skills is key for all children –

focussing on these areas and positively encouraging all attempts will have great benefits for all children. Our Early Years SLE, led the meeting exploring how developing key skills in Communication and Language not only

supported EAL children but other children with language delay and some of our younger Summer Born children who often have less developed language skills than their older classmates, particularly in Nursery.

Support for the Child and Practitioner

Talk for Writing is a vehicle that can support and challenge children

whether needing extra support in Communication and Language or to provide children with story structures that develop first their oral storytelling skills which they are then able to transfer into writing. At the Network we watched a video of children from Little Stars Nursery finding their voice to re-tell their own story using the pictures from the Alan Peat story bags their teacher had introduced, it was truly amazing

to watch!

The group also shared training and experiences of using ‘Helicopter

Stories’ and the value of children telling their own stories that are then acted out by the class on the story stage (or in a story square as they are sometimes called). Creating a community of children sharing their ideas for storytelling and exploring the language that accompanies them is powerful tool to develop their understanding of language.

This was also the focus of our EYFS Observation Workshop at Ilsham

Academy where teachers, TAs and HLTAs that attended were able to see Alan Peat story bags in action although this time they were used

to extend exceeded children with both their language and their writing.

“

‘Up levelling’ of language with ‘power words’ was encouraged in the session; the sentence ‘The man went to the

moon’ was transformed by a 5 year old into ‘The clever surgeon floated slowly in a hot air balloon to the dusty crumbly moon’! NQT Laura Ferran said “It was great to see the teacher in action and how engaged and motivated the children were to learn.” The workshop included training on the ‘Imitation’ section of Pie Corbett storytelling where a story is told with props and actions and then recorded with a story map. EAL children particularly find the repetition and visual element of these stories key to having the confidence to speak in English where they had been previously silent.

This workshop had a very balanced mix of observation, discussions and

learning points that will impact on my practice, particularly the language

used to support story mapping and writing.” CLAIRE, BRADLEY BARTON



As a ‘renewed’ co-ordinator I feel inspired to go back and work on our curriculum ... It has been an eye opener to see different teaching ideas! ... There were lots of practical ideas for the classroom! ... This has given me plenty of information to take forward in my new role as RE Lead ... Excellent information about pedagogy, resources and materials.”

RE Coordinator’s Day

This term we welcomed teachers from schools across Devon for our RE Coordinator’s training day. The day was led by our Religious Education SLE and Ed Pawson, Education Advisor from the Exeter Diocese. Throughout the day teachers engaged in a range of practical and theoretical elements to develop their understanding and practice as RE Leads. They were provided with information regarding national updates, pedagogical approaches to RE, tools to support the teaching, monitoring and evaluation of RE, curriculum design and assessment approaches. Teachers gained a deeper insight into different current practices within RE in a range of settings and they were able to create a wider network of support to enable the development of RE practice within their individual contexts. Reflective conversations throughout the day focussed upon RE Leads refining their thoughts relating to action points that were bespoke to each of their individual contexts whilst being able to also consider their own ongoing CPD needs. The evaluations that were completed at the end of the day were evidence of how empowered the teachers felt to move forwards and develop RE within their school and also to inspire other members of staff!

“

Our Religious Education SLE, Corrine Guntrip,

has been elected as chair of the Torbay

Standing Advisory Council on Religious

Education (SACRE)



The following events have been organised by All Saints Teaching School and sponsored by Oxford University Press.

Raising achievement for your lowest attainers including children from low

income backgrounds

Tuesday 2nd May 2017 9.00am – 12.20pm Spires College, Westlands Lane, Torquay, TQ1 3PE

FREE half day professional development

You are invited to join us to reflect on the most effective strategies

for raising achievement for your lowest attainers – including children from low income backgrounds.

The session offers the opportunity to attend a FREE half day of

professional development appropriate for Primary Headteachers, members of SLT, Subject Leaders, SENCO and Inclusion Leads.

Session 1: What works for low attaining children – including

children from low income backgrounds

Session 2: Managing effective interventions

Numbers will be limited (1 delegate per school with 1 in reserve) so please book early. You need to register online at astsa.org/cpd/oup-jeangross by Tuesday 25th April 2017.

Teaching for Big Ideas in Mathematics

Thursday 28th September 2017 9.00am – 3.00pm Zealley House, Greenhill Way, Kingsteignton, TQ12 3SB

£35.00 per delegate

SLT and Maths Leads are invited to join us to reflect on Teaching for

Big Ideas in Mathematics.

The session offers the opportunity to attend a full day of professional

development, looking in detail at:

What is a Big Idea?

What are some Big Ideas in Mathematics?

Planning and Teaching Mathematics with a Focus on Big

Ideas.

Numbers will be limited to a maximum of 2 delegates per school so please book early*. You need to register online at astsa.org/cpd/oup-mikeaskew by Monday 4th September 2017.

*There will be a non-profit charge of £35 made by the organiser to cover the cost of the venue, lunch and refreshments.

Teaching Writing: A Pathway to Success

Monday 13th November 2017 9.00am – 3.00pm Zealley House, Greenhill Way, Kingsteignton, TQ12 3SB

£35.00 per delegate

You are invited to join us to reflect on how we can help every child to

learn to write well by the time they leave primary school.

The session offers the opportunity to attend a full day of professional

development, looking in more detail at:

How we can build a culture of writing in our schools

How to create a rich and motivating curriculum for writing

How to structure writing lessons across the primary phase so

every child achieves well

Effective, practical strategies for teaching writing

Numbers will be limited to a maximum of 2 delegates per school so please book early*. You need to register online at astsa.org/cpd/oup-jamesclements by 23rd October 2017.

*There will be a non-profit charge of £35 made by the organiser to cover the cost of the venue, lunch and refreshments.

Limited places available

http://astsa.org/cpd/oup-jeangross

http://astsa.org/cpd/oup-mikeaskew

http://astsa.org/cpd/oup-jamesclements

http://astsa.org/cpd/oup-jamesclements

latest news spring (2) 2017 all saints teaching school ... · bespoke school to school support...

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